Can-closing machine



Nov.v 4, 1930. J. 'w1-:RY 1,780,729

CAN CLOSINGMACHINE Filed Aug. 15 `1928 @5 #i il 5555 J5 y 5' yf .Jg-9,5, v 77 l M 1/ lll? v qlll Patented Nov. 4, '1930 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE JULES WEBY, OF DEERFIELD, ILLINOIS; MAY WERY, ADMIN IST'RATRIX 0F SAID JULES WERY, DECEASED, ASSIGNOR TOSAMUEL G. GORSLINE, OF RIVER FOREST, ILLINOIS GAN-CLOSING MACHINE This invention relates to can-seaming or closing machines and it has among its ob] ects the provision of a light, simple and efliclent machine for automatically carrying out the l entire sequence of operations necessary for producing a, double seam or closure on cans of the type generally used in the trade.

' The invention will be best understood from the following descriptions of vthe exemplifications thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings wherein Fig. 1 is a side elevational view of a handoperated machine embodying the inventlon,

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the machine, and

Fig. 3 is a develo ed view of the cam surface of the cam mem ers used on the machine.

In Pat. No. 1,711,336 granted to me April K 30, 1929 there is disclosed a double seamingA machine of the hand operated type. The machine of said application comprises a supporting frame b means of which a can with a ycover place thereon is slowly rotated by means of a crank and the double seamingaction is obtained by moving a pair of seannng rollers by means of a separate lever against the edge of the cover so as to first -curl the edges of the cover and the can to an 1n1t1al or preliminary position and then compress the same so as to secure a tight closure of the can. In the foregoing machine the hand lever must first be moved in one direction and gradually pressed until it reaches a final position and then the hand lever must .be moved in an opposite direction and gradually compressed until it reaches a second final position. The.

movement of the crank by means of which the can is rotated must be relatively fast as compared with the slow movement of the hand lever and the hand levermust always be held sufficiently long in each of the two final positions until the can has been rotated several times with the seaming roller held in the final position. It is also important that themovement of the seaming levers toward the final positions shall be gradual in order to prevent damaging or cutting of the can edges and in order to obtain a proper curl of said edge. 1

The machine of the present invention eliminates the use of a separate hand lever and secures automatic movement of the seaming rollers into seaming position in such a way as to obtain the most efficient seaming action. Furthermore, the machine is so arranged that at the end of 011e seaming operation the machineis ready to perform the nextseaming operation so that one can can'be closed immediately after the closing operation on another has been performed without an special resettin operations, rotation of tfie operating shaft 1n one direction being required throughout the entire sequence of the operations of the machine.

The invention will be explained by reference to an embodiment thereof in a hand-operated machine having a general appearance similar to that of themachine of my aboveidentified application.

Referring to the drawings, the machine comprises a U-shaped frame 11 having a cross member 12 and two uprightl posts 13 and 14. The lower portion of the frame 11 is provided with suitable U-shaped clamps 15 of familiar f design by means of which the entire machine may be firmly clamped to a bench or the like. The frame Vwith the clamps is preferably made olf a single piece of metal by die-casting,

for instance. On the cross member 12 of the frame is mounted the lifter plate 16 with .the associated lifter mechanism comprising a lifter pin 17 longitudinally -slidable in a inclined cam surfaces 20, 21. The upper end of cans of the pin 17 has a collar 25 by means of which the pin is held in place above the cam 19, washers 26 being interposed between the cam and the collar 25 to secure the correct spacing. One of these washers 26 is of a resilient cushioning material such as rubber to permit proper application of pressure to thev The lifter pin 17 terminates in a short stud extending above the collar and ittinginto a central perforation in the lifter plate 16 so as to -hold the same in place. This lifter plate 16 is a substantially rigid disk-like member provided with a plurality of concentric grooves 16 vforre'ceiving the projecting edges of the lower'closed ends of various sizes that are to be seamed on thev machine. The upper endV of the upright 14 terminates into-a threaded stud 35 and the upper end of the upright "13 forms a U-shaped member terminating in a-p'air of studs 36. These studs lit into perforations von member 37 which completes the. frame, the transverse member being firmly held in place by means of nuts frame member 37 is provided with a-bearing 41 located directly above the lower bearing 18. In this upper bearing 41-is mounted a chuck spindle 42 havingon its upper end mounted a bevelgear'4- and c-arrying at its lower end adriving chuck plate 47. The driving'chuck plate isarrang'ed to be rotated by means of a pinion 51- engaging the bevel gear 43, the pinionl 52 journaled in upstanding lugsv .53 of the upper transverse, member. .A v crank 54 mounted on the right hand end of the shaft serves to rotate the same.

- ea beweert The parts'l of the mechanism so far de vscribed are substantially. identical with those described with somewhat moredetail in my co-pending application referred rto above with the `exceptmn of the construction ofthe f upper end of the left-handupright 13 Ywhich inthe present case terminates'into two studs 36 referred to aboveand the left-hand end of the transverse frame .member' 37 with the .seaming mechanism mounted thereon that will now be described in detail; a

` The left-hand end of the upper transverse member 37 -forrns an enlargedVJ supporting plate/61 provided-with two bearing members which is journaled a shaft 63 ofv a worm wheel 64 adaptedl to be vdriven by a worm 65 mounted on the extension of the main shaft 52 of the machine. The left hand ofthe shaftf 52 is journaled in a bearing 66 carried on the left-hand end of the On` pivot pins 70 and 71 secured on`the right-hand edge of the supporting plate 61 on opposite sides of the'cen` .ter of the plane through the machine arel ymounted two seaming roll levers 72 and 73, the first lever carrying a preliminary seam-y ing roll74.and the second a finishing seaming` a transverse 38. The upper transverse v being rotated by ,a shaft tion of the cam surface,

i roller 75 such as described in my above iden'- especially shaped and arranged to engagel bearing rollers 78 onthe seaming levers 72 and 73 so as vto result in smooth action. The two cam levers 72 and 73 are pressed by means of a spring 79 intlo engagement with a cam surface on the cam members 76 and 77.

Each of the` cam members has a raised cam surface portion 81 soV dimensioned thatwhen 1said cam portion is in engagement with the bearing roller 7 8 on the associated seaming roll lever, the seaming roller mounted on said lever is pressed against the edgebf the can and held in theifinal seaming' `position corresponding to the respective seam'- ing roller. When the bearing roller 78 on the seaming roller levers is in engagement with the depressed portion of the cam member .the seaming roller ofthe respective lever is out of engagement with the edge of the can cover. The raised portion of the cam surface is joined with the depressed portion by an inclined surface portion -so shaped that when said inclined portion is pressed against the bearing roller of the respective seaming roller lever, the associated seaming roller will `be gradually pressed into seamingA po-A ,sition until it has reached its final seaming the fiat raised p orposition correspondingito a Adeveloped view of the cam surfaces on the two cam members being indicated diagrammatically in Fig.3.' v

The' raised portions 81 of the two cam` members 76 and 77 are offset so that-by con'- tinuously rotating the. crank 54vthe'prelimi-4 nary seaming roller 74 is first brought into action .and upon termination" of its seaming operation the, second seaming.rol1er 75 is brought ifnto operation. After finishing the' second seaming operation the worm Wheel 64 .1s again 1n the same posltionas 1t was before the preliminary seaming operation f was started so that the machine is4 ready tocontinue the rnext seaming .operation after lnsertln the next following vcan that is to be close With the foregoing .arrangement the seam` i i.

ing operations are carried out as ffollows:

In order to start a 'seaming operation. the

`machine is first brought into a position Where' the bearing, rollersv of the seaming roller levers 72 and 73 rest on the depressed portions of the cam surfaces so that the seaming rollers are out of engagement with the edges of the can that is to be seamed. Thereupon the can with the vcover yis placed in the 'machine and brought to the raised position by means of the lifter lever, as explained above. The crank 54 is now rotated.` This rotates thecan and because of the gear reduction between the worm and the worm wheel 64 it causes gradual rotation of the worm wheel 64. The rotation of the latter first swings gradually the seaming roller lever 72 outwardly as the bearing roller thereof comes into engagement with the raised portion of the cam member 76. This causes the preliminary seaming roller 74 to lbe gradually pressed against the edge of the can that is to be closed until the bearing roller .78 of the lever 72 has reached the flat upper raised portion of the cam member 76. This portion is of such length that the seaming roller 74 will beheld pressed in its final position'through several rotations of the can, preferably two or three full rotationszg The crank is continued to be rotated and in the course of this rotation the seaming roller lever 74 is released out of engagement with the edge of the can and the finishing seaming roller 75 is brought and held in engagement in the same way as a preliminary roller until the seaming roller operation has been performed and the cam has been rotated two or three times in the final seaming position. The crank is continued to be rotated until the finishing seaming roller lever has been released from the cam edge, whereupon the closing operation is completed and the can may be taken out from the machine and the next can placed therein for performing the next closing operation.

My invention is not restricted to the precise details of construction and arrangements described hereinabove but many modifications will suggest themselves to those skilled in the art. It is accordingly desired that the invention be given a broad construction commensurate with the scope of the invention in the art.

I claim:

1. In a hand-portable can seaming machine, a frame comprising a base, a pair of spaced posts upwardly extending from said base and a cross member connecting the upper ends of said posts, a can holder mounted on said base, a chuck mounted on said cross member opposite said can holder for rotating a can held on said holder, a shaft on said cross .member for rotating said chuck, a seaming roller supported on said frame, and a driving connection between said roller and said shaft for moving said roller into seaming position by rotation ofsaid shaft.

2. In a hand-portable can seaming Inachine, a frame comprising a base, a pair of spaced posts upwardly extending from said base and a cross member connecting the up-y per ends of said posts, a can holder mounted on said base, a chuck mounted on said cross member opposite said canv holder for rotating a can held on said holder, a shaft on said cross member for rotating said chuck, a plurallty of seaming rollers movably supported on said frame, and a driving connection bebase and` a cross member connecting the up-v per ends of said posts, a can holder mounted on said base, a chuck mounted on said cross member opposite said can holder for rotating a-can held onsaid holder, a shaft on said cross member for rotatin saidchuck, a pluralityof seaming rollers or performing predetermined seaming operations, and a driving connection between said shaft and said seaming rollers, said driving connection being so arranged that upon continuous rotation ofvsaid shaft, said seaming rollers contlnuously repeat in sequence predetermined seaming operations involving the alternate steps of coming into seaming position and receding therefrom.

4. In a hand-portable can seaming machine, a frame comprising a base, means on said base for detachably clamping the same toa support, a pair of spaced posts upwardly extending from said base and a cross member connecting the top portions of said posts, a can holder mounted on said base, a chuck mounted on said cross member opposite said can holder for rotating a can placed betweenv said can holder and said chuck, a shaft rotatively mounted on said cross member in the direction from one post to the other, a driving connection between said chuck and said shaft for imparting rotary movement to said chuck upon rotation of said shaft, a pair of seaming roller levers movably associated with said cross member, a preliminary seaming roller mounted on one of said levers, a finishing roller mounted on the other of said levers, and cam means mounted on said cross member in driving engagement with said shaft and said levers to cause said rollers to be alternately brought into seaming position against said chuck upon continuous rotation of said shaft.

In a hand-portable can sean'iing Inachln'e, a frame comprising a base, a pair of spaced posts upwardly extending from said base and a cross member connectingsaid posts, a can holder mounted onsaid base between said posts, a chuck rotativelymounted on said cross member opposite said can holder, a shaft llf) extending longitudinally between said posts and rotatively mounted on said cross member, a driving connection between said chuck and said shaft'for imparting rotary movement to said chuck by the rotary movement of said shaft, a pair of seaming roller supports mounted on opposite sides lof said frame litt) chuck to-drive a can held on said holder, a`

plurality of seaming rollers supported on said frame, and a gear drive between said rollers and said said rollers into seamingengagement against said chuck by the rotatingv action of said shaft.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto sub-v scribed my name this th day-ofy August, 1928.

JULESWERY.

(i. In a can seaming machine,l a frame, a

driving shaft mounted on said frame, a chuck ournalled on said frame in the direction transverse to said sha-ft underneath the same,

a gear drivin connection between said shaft and said chuc r, a rotary gear member geared to said sha-ft and disposed in the plane of opposite sides -of said rotary gear member, levers pivotally mounted on opposite sides of said shaft for driving engagement with said` i cam surfaces, and a seaming roller` on each of said levers arranged to be moved by the driving action of said cam surfacesinto seaming position against said chuck, the cam surfaces on the opposite sides of said rotary gear menisaid shaft and said chuck axis, cam surfaceson the sov Y ber being so arranged as to alternately bring `against said chuck.

7 In a hand-portable can seaming machine, a frame comprising a base, clamping means for. detachably clamping said frame to a support, a standard upwardly extending from said base, and a cross-member on said standard, a can holder mounted on said base,

said seaming rollers into seaming position a chuck rotatively mounted on saidcrossmember opposite said can holder, a pair ofseaming roller supports mounted on said ports,

chine,

frame, a seaming roller on each of said supcani means rotatably mounted on said frame for independently actuating each of said seaming roller supports toalternately bring said seamingrollers into seaming position against said chuck, a driving shaft on shaft for alternately bringing said cross-member, a gear connection between said shaft and said chuck, anda gear connection between said cam means and said shaft, said gear connections being so arrangedvthat upon continuous rotation of said shaft, a rotary movement is imparted to said chuck, and said seaming rollers vare alternately brought into seaming position against said chuck. Y

8. In a hand-portable can seaming ma.-

a frame comprising a base, clamping means for detachably clampin said base to a support, a standard upwar ly extending from said base, a cross-member on the upper end of said standard, a can holder mounted on said base, a chuck mounted on said cross-member opposite said can holder for rotating a can held in said holder, a shaft mounted on said cross-member, a gear connection between said shaft and said chuck for rotating said. 

